iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and one more thing, iPhone X, launched; here’s what you need to know

by Vyncent Chan

The Apple Event is just over, and we saw not two, but three iPhones this year. While most of the design and specifications of the new iPhones have leaked out in one way or another, here’s some concrete specifications.

Glass backs are back

All the new iPhones, which means the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, will feature glass backs. Waterproofing is maintained, most probably with the same IP67 rating the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus had. The new glass backs allow the new iPhones to support a feature that was missing from Apple’s smartphones all this while — Qi wireless charging. With the new Air Power mat, you can charge the new Apple Watch Series 3, EarPods with optional wireless charging case and your new iPhone together without having to snake multiple wires around your table.

New hexa-core Apple A11 Bionic SoC

Apple is still behind in the core count game with only six cores in the latest Apple A11 Bionic SoC, but this time they are promising 25% faster performance from the A10 in the performance cores, 70% faster high efficiency cores, and 70% faster multithreaded workloads. A new in-house designed GPU promises better performance with full support for the also in-house Metal 2 API, for a great gaming experience on mobile. The new neural processing unit also ensures that you can make use of the many new features on the iPhones that require machine learning algorithms and AI to work.

AR on iPhone X and 8 Plus; sorry iPhone 8

Speaking of gaming, Apple is taking it to the next frontier with augmented reality. With the dual camera setup on the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple can do accurate depth tracking, along with the new gyro and accelerometer for precise motion tracking. Apple did a demo of the applications that will make use of the AR features on the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus, and they are a far cry from the ASUS ZenFone AR‘s limited applications.

Dual OIS on the iPhone X, single on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

Apple has packed the latest iPhone trio with new 12MP sensors, that are claimed to be bigger and better than those in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The differentiating factor is the iPhone X will feature dual OIS, which means both the standard and telephoto cameras will feature OIS, while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will only feature OIS for the standard camera. Aside from this, there will a new Portrait Lighting mode for the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, adding to the Portrait Mode that was available on the iPhone 7 Plus. The optics are also different, with the iPhone X featuring f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures for the standard and telephoto cameras respectively, while the iPhone 8 Plus will feature f/1.8 and f/2.8 optics. The iPhone X will also feature Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting for selfies.

Super Retina OLED display for the iPhone X

While iPhones have previously shied away from OLED technologies, the edgeless design of the iPhone X is a pretty strong motivator for them to embrace the technology. While it may be pricey, it allowed Apple to design a device with a 5.8″ screen with as little bezels as they can, throw away TouchID in favor of FaceID facial recognition security, and add HDR10, Dolby Vision and infinite contrast ratios to the new iPhone X.

Pricing and availability

The iPhone 8 will start from $699, while the iPhone 8 Plus starts from $799. They will be available starting from the 22nd of September. If you prefer the iPhone X, prepare to part with $999, with availability only starting from 3rd November onwards.

Pokdepinion: The iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X looks very interesting. This is actually the first time I am excited about new iPhones. Great job Apple!